6 Amazing Buildings We’re Digging Right Now

A local salt shed and a residential project in south central England are on our radar.

Pigmented concrete, cross-laminated timber, and a double-skin exterior are just a few of these ingenious projects’ distinguishing features. Hailing from locations around the globe, each was chosen exclusively from firms on The List, the destination for all things Surface-approved.

1. Norwegian Mountaineering Center, Reiulf Ramstad Architects
Marked by its unconventional geometric silhouette and exterior pattern, this structure—both a mountaineering center and community gathering place for the Norwegian county of Møre og Romsdal—was completed in 2016.

3. Terra House, Bernardes Arquitetura
Built in Brazil in 2015, this residential project is marked by a series of parallel pigmented concrete walls. Large windows create an open, airy feel and bring the surrounding outdoors in.

4. Cotswold House, Found Associates
This contextual project in south-central England involved the restoration of an 18th-century gamekeeper’s cottage combined with new building elements. It won an RIBA National Award in 2012.

5. Albina Yard, Lever Architecture
This office building in Portland, Oregon, shows off local firm Lever Architecture’s deep knowledge of cross-laminated timber (CLT). The 16,000-square-foot space, completed in 2016, was the first building in the U.S. made from domestically fabricated CLT.